1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an audio or image processing system to be used for playing a game of virtual cooking. Particularly, this invention relates to an audio or image processing system for realizing virtual cooking by performing audio or image processing corresponding to the respective input devices based on data input therefrom, and outputting the results thereof to an output playback device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there have been various cooking toys imitating cooking utensils and ingredients to be used as toys for virtual cooking upon playing house and so on.
As cooking toys with a burner, for example, there are those that simulate a flame by emitting light using an LED, or achieve the ambience of cooking by generating cooking sounds with a built-in audio generating device. There are also: types which resort to artifice of making ingredients, such as vegetables, fruits, meat, and so on, to be separable, and imitate the cutting of ingredients upon a user pretending to cut these ingredients with a toy knife.
In recent years, utilized as intellectual training toys for children are audio or image processing systems which perform prescribed audio or image processing pursuant to data input from an input device, and display the result to, for example, an output playback device such as a TV. As an example of this type of intellectual training toy, there are those in which pictures and characters drawn on a tablet with a touch pen as the input device are displayed on the aforementioned output playback device. There are also types in which a user may become familiar with traffic rules by using input devices imitating a steering wheel and gearshift of a car to conduct virtual driving while operating such steering wheel and gearshift and viewing the image displayed on the output playback device.
Nevertheless, the aforementioned cooking toy with a burner has a problem in that when a pot or frying pan is placed thereon, the LED simulating the flame is hidden at the bottom of the cooking utensil and the simulation effect is decreased thereby. Moreover, cooking toys that generate cooking sounds have a problem in that the sound produced, for example, is merely a simple frying sound and thereby lacks ambience. Furthermore, conventional cooking toys also have a disadvantage in that the arrangement of the respective switches is often a miscellany, which frequently led to erroneous operations
In addition, among the intellectual training toys for children utilizing an audio or image processing system, the actual situation is that a so-called system kitchen with a burner, cutting board, faucet, sink, etc., which enables a child to comprehensively enjoy and learn cooking in general, has not been provided heretofore.